A social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program remained online on Wednesday despite a furious backlash on both sides of the border.
On Monday night, Hegseth posted on X a photograph of two people in uniform with a Canadian flag and the caption “this is real”, an apparent attempt at mocking the country’s armed forces amid the Trump administration’s trade spat with its northern neighbor.
However, the photograph was reproduced from an Instagram post by the Vernon Cadet Training Centre in British Columbia, which hosted a summer camp in July for teenagers learning adult skills on the military base.
Its subjects are not members of Canada’s frontline military, and the person whose appearance Hegseth was attempting to ridicule is likely a volunteer instructor, critics said. The girl receiving a medal is a teenager no older than 18.
The post, widely seen as part of a Trump administration “bullying campaign” over the trade war, was immediately condemned by officials in Canada and in the US. Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, called it “beneath the office” of the secretary of defense.
Responding on Tuesday to attacks on his country by US government officials, including Donald Trump’s attempt to rename Lake Ontario by executive order, Carney told reporters it was time for Washington to “start being serious” about efforts to de-escalate trade tensions.
“When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions,” he said.
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, echoed Carney’s sentiment. “It tells you everything you need to know about the amateur-hour, distracted, bizarre leadership that Americans are being subjected to,” he said.
The civilian Army Cadet League of Canada accused Hegseth of online harassment. “Directing derogatory commentary toward youth who are actively working to better themselves and serve their communities is unacceptable,” the group said in a statement.
Adam Kinzinger, the former Republican US congressman and a military veteran, was even more outspoken in a post on X.
“Literally they’re kids. This is a cadet program and our ass hat of a Secdef is making fun of children,” he wrote. “MAGA [Make America Great Again] males are betas who have to punch down to feel big.”
Ruben Gallego, the Democratic Arizona senator and a former marine, called the post “stupid” and “disrespectful”.
Danny O’Regan, a Canadian veteran writing on X, also criticized the post. “The Secretary of Defence is body shaming cadet groups,” he said. “This is not a military unit. They are kids looking for adventure, test themselves and align themselves with the values of service. Don’t be a Pete.”
The Pentagon, meanwhile, defended Hegseth. On Tuesday, Jacob Bliss, the defense department’s deputy press secretary, said: “The X post speaks for itself.”
The incident comes as Hegseth faces increasing pressure on several fronts. The US army chief Dan Driscoll resigned this week, reportedly after months of internal clashes with Hegseth. Democrats have accused the defense secretary of having “hollowed out” the military’s senior ranks.
On Wednesday, Iran accused the US of a “war crime” after four people were killed, including a four-year-old child, and dozens injured in a reported missile strike on a wedding at a home in the south of the country.
The ongoing Iran war has also left the US with a “beyond critical” shortage of missile interceptors, the Associated Press reported, sparking fears among Nato allies of increasing vulnerability to a potential Russian military attack.
Hegseth has previously been critical of body shapes in the US military, telling senior commanders in Virginia last year that “fat troops are tiring to look at”.
Ordering military officials to crack down on a lack of physical fitness, he said: “It’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops.”
